50:36 i remember that puppet from some of his older videos! And that Scott jumpscare was great haha Also cool to see Jaggy again, even if it's just his arms, miss that guy.
I think it ran way too long tbh (like he threw in every flower line he could even when the pacing dragged), but the final skit was creative enough that it fully earned that length.
I'm just so happy that children growing up now get to have something this imaginative and beautiful be a part of their childhood, kids deserve good games man.
I want to give this 10 likes. Crappy media is so bad for the growth of youth's minds. Always strive to give kids the most creative, imaginative experiences that motivate them to want to do the same, or at least be creative and be happy with their creations.
It really gave me the same magical vibe I remember from playing SMW as a kid; the feeling that absolutely anything could happen at any time. Every level had something new and funky to offer, every pipe could lead to somewhere on the other side of the planet. For all my gripes about Nintendo as a company, it's truly astounding how they've managed to keep that sort of feeling alive for multiple generations of gamers.
Considering I've lived and breathed 2D Mario for most my life, it's refreshing seeing such an in-depth review of Wonder from someone who isn't a big fan of the series. Also the way you made your skits using only the original game's talking flower voicelines is really impressive, reminds me of doing the same thing for my custom Wonder levels. 14:21 Part of the reason Wonder has such a 2D art-feel compared to the New Super Mario Bros. games is that most of the game's platforms, backgrounds, and even some of the enemies actually are 2D. The way background scrolling works also mimics the parallax effect of older games like Yoshi's Island, with how there are a number of scrolling layers, whereas New Super Mario Bros. Wii and U used more ordinary fully 3D backgrounds. 40:50 The differences in movement controls between Wonder and the NSMB games are indeed super subtle. The most impactful change is that the player will now slow down / turn around much more quickly when changing directions, meaning the NSMB games basically have permanent ice physics compared to Wonder.
I get what you were saying when you said this was a new era for you and Kane - this was the closest you've ever been to the game itself while reviewing it. Continually cutting in and out of the game audio, using its writing to bolster the video itself, incredibly tight editing... be proud of yourselves for what you've accomplished in this one. And man, you've made a daunting video to top lmao
Arlo said 2D platformers lack depth. I wanted to yell, "Yeah! Because it's 2D!" In your build-up, you overlooked Super Mario Maker. That had a big impact on the devs. Seeing what people were doing by essentially using their dev tools showed them that there were still so many ways they could do different things with 2D Mario. They took that new outlook into making Super Mario Wonder. Plus the amiibo costumes from Maker 1 showed that people WANTED to play as more than just the basic cast. Mario Maker made people wonder if 2D Mario was dead. Mario Wonder proved it was far from finished.
@@PistolUSMCthat would require Nintendo to acknowledge their existence in the first place. And we all know how Nintendo feels about anything unofficial. “KILL IT WITH FIRE!” seems to be their standard response.
5:32 I know why they waited a decade. They didn’t. They put out NSLU, then went to work on Mario Maker, Mario Maker for 3DS, and Mario Maker 2. Between those games and Pikmin, the team just didn’t have time for a more traditional 2d Mario until now
I really love the Online elements. I don't like playing online, but I had so much fun helping unskilled players (usually children) with some of the hsrder levels. Specifically, I would hang out in some of the incredibly tough puzzle rooms and give players who were having a lot of trouble some nice hints and sometimes powerups to help them get it. I would often then watch those same players start helping other players who joined the level! This is the type of community play that makes me so happy and feels missing from the larger switch ecosystem outside of splatoon!
I don't think Wonder really clicked for me until I started playing it online. It was both a fun competition trying to keep up with the people I entered the level with and a cool bit of collaboration. I definitely think its one of its better features.
I feel like wonder came as a result of seeing so many interesting ideas and designs through the Mario maker games. Everyone loves the 2D Mario coat of paint but with the flair of open minded level design. I think they ran with the idea of making 2D Mario wacky and exciting
Spoiler for the end of the video! Naked-puppeteer-arms-Arlo was SUCH an incredible gag. I’ve always enjoyed your humour, but oh my gosh that was amazing. And you followed it up almost immediately with Arlo The Woz! I loved your other skits in this episode, too. Thanks for a great video!
I rather enjoyed Wonder's music. There were even a lot of atmospheric cuts that I wasn't expecting to get with a Mario game. Great video--you really put your all into this one!
I like how much this game feels like an official Mario Maker level set. It feels like, in a completely unexpected move, Nintendo actually saw the levels people were making and really wanted to try those ideas out for themselves.
Wonder very much feels like a response to Mario Maker. It's like they went "We've let people create every possible permutation of a normal 2d mario level, what can we do next that's still interesting? I know, new gimmick every level!" It's not for nothing that Wonder is something that would basically be impossible to create in a standardized level editor like Mario Maker
They actually specifically mentioned this in the dev interviews! They had to take a long think about what made 2D mario unique and fun after seeing all the creativity of the Mario Maker Community
As much as I loved Mario Maker, it really did highlight how hard it is to make a good level. I played a bunch of fun gimmick levels, but I can't remember playing even a single player-made level that felt just like a really good vanilla Mario level.
@@TheThunderbirdRising The amount of people who were dead set convinced we'd never get another 2D Mario game because "It'd be pointless, Mario Maker can already do everything we want." was utterly ridiculous and I never bought it. How silly and nonsensical. I feel validated that those people had it stuck to them.
I LOVE how you can have the flowers speak in a set language while keeping the rest of the game in the native language because me and my gf put them in French because we thought it’d be funny and it helped my enjoyment SO much because hearing just regular English in a Mario game was so jarring so having it in a language I don’t know helped it feel like a sound effect if that makes sense
Gonna go ahead and say that this is easily your best video. I was pretty lukewarm on Wonder. I found it to be...pretty good! But you made all of your points well, and emphasized what really mattered to you. It's that Arlo-y, heart-warming charm. And the jokes and editing are you and your team in top form. Cheers from a long-time fan!
yoshi's island is fascinating, because it feels like the first game where nintendo's "modern" design philosophy started to take root. big, exploratory levels. lots of really unique ideas that don't overstay their welcome. great, creative gameplay mechanics that differentiate it from other games in the series. emphasis on atmosphere and a unique art style. it's very much an "n64" style nintendo game, just 2d and on the SNES instead.
I strongly disagree with the idea that the original New Super Mario Bros game on DS is on the same level as the rest of the NSMB games. NSMB 2, Wii, and U I agree, but the original game is still wonderfully creative and exciting.
I disagree that the other NSMB games aren't also creative and exciting. The issue was that pumping out games at that speed didn't leave them enough room to be creative. And using the same models, music, and themes over and over again led to fatigue. But that doesn't mean there weren't cool ideas underneath it all. I'm especially baffled to hear that the NSMB soundtracks are seen as bland. Overused? Absolutely. But the games have really solid tracks. NSMBWii especially gets ignored due to how often its music was used, but if you stop and listen to it, you can tell how great they are.
@@DaNintendude it's just a circlejerk to act like NSMB is creatively bankrupt as a whole. i think a lot of people havent even played the games but say it anyway.
Your special effects for eating that flower was just like Cookie Monster eating many things on Seseme Street and the Follow That Bird movie. It was perfect. And your gamer comedy writing to go with it was great too. Keep this up!
I do agree with your comments about NSMB series, but I do wish people would realize that the original NSMB WAS the Wonder of it's day. It's not that game's fault that Nintendo decided to make 6 more identical games afterwards, no more than it would be Wonder's fault if Nintendo went "people liked Wonder, let's make 5 more Wonder games"
I don't think people of bragging about DS. If anything, they appreciated it and still considered it the real 2D Mario game. It's just the ones afterwards is where it becomes an problem.
Wonder is the game my family beeded! My 7 and 8 yesr old sons LOVED it and they will cherish our time together playing Mario for the rest of their lives. This is the next generation's Mario 64 and I'm happy they have one!
My favorite part of Mario Wonder is playing as Daisy! Daisy is my favorite Mario character, and it's been long overdue for her to make appearances on mainline games. Just having Peach NOT be kidnapped and both princesses be playable characters is such a huge improvement on the roster, especially because all the characters play the same, so you avoid the issues Super Mario Bros. U had where 2 players were left with the leftover Toads or locked to Easy mode. And those levels can be pretty challenging too, with the amount of variety and themes they play around, having the level's difficulty marked on the map and using the Wonder Seeds as keys for the World's castle without requiring all levels beaten is also a nice change of pace, now we can have harder levels earlier on without alienating the less skilled players! :D Mario Wonder is Wonderful! :D Edit: On the talking Flowers, if you set them to Japanese the whole "Well, that just happened" schlick (or whatever insulting you rightfully utilize to refer to that type of writing) is completely gone. The original script for their commentaries is more Japanese in flavor, so they sound more like "what is going on? or "did I dream that happening?", as if they are actually written by people outside of the US and the Marvel writing style bubble!
11:11 When I used to hope that Daisy would be in the main line games, it felt like I was shouting in a vacuum towards some of the fans. They would usually be very dismissive saying that she was spin-off fodder. I used to really think offhanded rules made by fans were pretty pointless. But now more than ever they seem to get along pretty well when Daisy showed up from my perspective that's astonishing, she's a WONDERFUL addition like I've been trying to tell'em all along. 🥹
Aside from Wonder being new & original and breaks the New Super Mario Bros curse, Daisy is also the main reason I wanted this game just because this is her first time being playable and I'm happy Nintendo is given her some attention.
@@rondorock2563 "Offhanded riles made by fans." That reminds me of when fans used to come up with all sorts of excuses for Square Enix to never remake Final Fantasy VII, saying it was too big to be remade, that environments would have to be made in 3D instead of pre-rendered and that somehow made it impossible to remake the game, or that the slap minigame on top of the Sister Ray Canon was too silly to be present. Then Square """remakes""" the game by making it at least 3 times bigger with infinite padding, ruins the story by making it far sillier (without intending to) and perfectly fine and expensive 3D environments. Oh yeah, and there were people 100% sure the Switch 2 wouldn't have backwards compatibility because the Switch didn't have it with the Wii U, and that somehow proved it. It wasn't because the Switch was physically and architecturally completely different from the Wii U or even that the previous console was such a huge failure that backwards compatibility would only hold the Switch back, it was just a new rule made by fans that it would never happen again! We really have a bunch of ignorant people telling us things are never going to happen with such confidence that it borderlines arrogance!
These arlo reviews are the most entertaining videos for me. I stick my phone in my ear with very low volume and listen to them in parts while walking to school and back!❤
This was probably your best review yet. The skits were fire (the ending was amazing), the praise and criticism was fair, and it was just a fun watch that didn't even feel like 50+ minutes.
I loved the skit about the conversation with the flower using all its voice lines. That must have taken a lot of effort and i must say it was well worth it. Good job Arlo.
@@joffles6516 they’re so stupid, and the solutions are so obscure, but i’m glad they exist. it’s fun to boot up the game just to help people online figure out how to complete the level.
This game was the first one i’ve ever 100% (besides cuphead). I absolutely loved this game and need to revisit it since it’s OVER A YEAR OLD NOW. It feels like time flies omg…
That Arlo x Flower sketch did NOT need to be anywhere near that long, and I feel ridiculously spoiled. THANK YOU for that segment. Every moment Arlo is on camera is a happy moment for me.
I really liked how they went all the way in with the talking flowers. They could've been really annoying but they gave them so many dialogues to each situation in genuinely funny ways that I loved them
1 thing I don't hear a lot of people mention was how the Superstar turns you into a coin Magnet. You just attract nearby coins to you as long as the Superstar tune is playing. It's something I hope stays in every future Mario Platformer, 2D or 3D.
The Mario series is at its best when it is weird and funny in my opinion, you can see it in the RPGs, you can see it in games series like the Strikers games, in Mario Party, and Mario Kart, in games like Mario Odyssey, Bowser's Fury with the fact that everything is a cat, in Luigi's Mansion 3, in Princess Peach Showtime, and you can see it in Wonder
Oddly, despite Breaking Tradition and being unexpected it feels so Natural, like this is the Direction that should have been taken a while ago, Mario was always meant to be Wacky and Fun
My reaction to the Wonder effects at the end: 1-The real Banjo Threeie was the Arlos we met along the way 2-nice music, goofy elephant 3-HE’S BACK! 4-W H A T 5-Oh no Not Again 6-He had a Wonder Mushroom in there, didn’t he? 7-I like Trampoline Parks, I always leave with enough broken bones that I don’t have to go to work for at least a few weeks 8-OH GOD PLEASE NO NOO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 9-Alternate universe Arlos return 10-When Big Fat Review, cmon I’m waiting 11-gotta be warm out there 12-Gotta play the game arlo did voice work in 13-don’t like clowns 14-that gotta hurt 15-Arlo Human Reveal (ok that was REALLY Clever) 16-Nostalgia 17-NO WAY SCOTT THE WOZ!….Without his Blue Boarder….*X-File theme plays* 18-Bro don’t do it…DON’T DO I-
Wow. That was so good!!! I missed Arlo reviews so much, and you came back SWINGING!!!! Especially that ending!! Thank you for being the best RUclipsr!!!
Safe to say this is one of your weirdest and best videos yet. The end is just too much 😂 Also I’m yet to understand what implications that sequence has for the Arlo Cinematic Universe!
Super Mario World and Yoshi’s Island approaching the 100 year mark is certainly an impressive feat, can’t wait to experience the 200th anniversary next year! On a real note though lol, I’m currently playing through Wonder right now and aside from some levels imo being a bit clunky with controls due to tight timing required (I’m looking at you block wall jumping Special World level), this game has been a lot of fun and I can’t wait to see it to the end. I’ve just finished the end of World 4 and have Worlds 5 & 6 left before I take on the final boss (which funny enough I’m still blind on so I look forward to seeing what that’s about). The animations and music absolutely make the game for me, and whilst limited in nature the online makes me feel more connected as well as I’ve had some other players save my butt when I die close to the final goal. God bless the standees, they are an absolute godsend to my inexperienced Mario platformer skills 😭
I shall edit this comment over the course of this video but wonderful intro! Yay, that one skit (around the 16-17 minute mark) that I saw on Twitter some time ago, love to see it in this video! I really love that Daisy is playable as she is my favorite Mario character, I haven’t beat the game as I am not good at platforming but appreciate it so much as a game. Also while Mario isn’t generally my favorite Nintendo series, this game really is super neat and yeah like you said the Mario RPGs are wonderful and amongst my favorite games!
I think there's a little too much NSMB bashing here. Like sure, some of it is bias, but some of it felt like "oh yeah, everyone thinks this." And sadly I think a lot of people _do_ feel that way. The reason the NSMB games were so "bland" was because they were pumped out so quickly. There wasn't much time to do too much _new_ with each entry, so they ended up reusing a LOT. Did you know Mario & Luigi's models are altered from Mario Kart Double Dash?? But the actual new and creative stuff shouldn't be overlooked. I think if NSMBU had 5 years to get developed, and it was developed by the FULL team, instead of the split development with NSMB2 it had, we could've gotten a game closer to Wonder. They said that with Wonder, they didn't want to give themselves a deadline. They worked really hard to be as creative as possible _and they had the _*_time_*_ to do so._ This isn't to diminish how annoying it was to get the same games over and over, or diminish how truly creative and ground-breaking Wonder is. But this wasn't just some random thing they did. They've probably been wanting to make creative stuff like this for years, and they were just too stuck into their release schedules to have the time to get creative. As a final note, I think the claim that New Super Mario Bros had bland music compared to Wonder to be kinda baffling. Yeah, we ALL got sick of those same songs getting reused for every single game (+ the Mario Makers), but the songs themselves are really REALLY good. New Super Mario Bros Wii specifically has a lot of overlooked tracks. There are a few SMB3 songs that got new, extended arrangements, and they're incredible. Bowser Jr's battle theme in Wonder actually reminded me a lot of the Tower Boss theme from NSMBWii.
I also think the NSMB games were necessary to push the devs to be as creative as they were. The fact they decided to make new enemies instead of reusing old ones already says a lot. The devs were tired of the same old, and wanted something new. But stuff like the animations, fresh models, and wacky level scenarios? Those all could've existed in the NSMB era if they had the time (and power). NSMB relies too much on classic traditions, and 3D. Wonder takes a step forward, evolving the formula, while also stepping back with the art. They wanted it to look 2D. Idk if that mindset would've worked with how they handled the NSMB games. And I certainly don't think they would've been able to animate everyone as clean and fluidly as they are in Wonder.
Now I want to play Wonder again! It truly is a special game that I really enjoyed my first time through, but after some time I wasn't sure how I felt about it because it was a bit easy for me and didn't take me long to complete. However, I've recently gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for what this game did for Mario as a whole. Here's to hoping Nintendo will continue to fine-tune this amazing formula of weird and wackiness combined with the classic Mario gameplay we all know and love! Also, those segments with the Talking Flower and the Wonder Flowers were flippin' hilarious.
Something as simple as _being able to play as Daisy_ does WONDERS for my enjoyment of this game. I cannot overstate the impact of being able to play as your _favorites_ instead of just the characters you're usually stuck with. (The same is true for 3D World. Its hard to say if I'd even really enjoy playing the game AT ALL if not for the fact I can play as Rosalina. I literally speedran the game just to unlock her, and didn't enjoy Bowser's Fury even nearly as much. Being able to play as characters I actually LIKE is just that important to me).
@@lasercraft32 you're better than me, I took the game back to the store because of Bowsers fury I didn't like it at all. I just wanted Daisy and a lot more levels added to the base 3D world. Bowser's fury should have just been it's own game apart from 3D world, you couldn't even switch to a different character other than Mario not even with amiibo. I just felt like it defeated the purpose of being connected to 3D world, a game with multiple characters on a single adventure.
@@rondorock2563 I actually already owned the game on Wii U... The main reason I even wanted to buy the Switch port is because of the universal movement changes they made (so even though I didn't like Bowser's Fury, the base game is still superior to the Wii U version). For example, the game itself basically moves faster (every character got a buff to their movement speed), and they also added the ground-pound jump, dive, and spin jump from Mario Odyssey. It honestly does wonders for my enjoyment of the game, because of how much movement tech it allows. Especially with Rosalina, you can get some crazy height _and_ distance by using her spin ability (long jump + spin + dive can cross huge gaps, and ground pound jump + wall jump + spin + dive can get you up high ledges). But once again... None of that would matter all that much if not for the fact I can play as Rosalina. XD I would have killed (not literally though) to be able to switch into other characters for Bowser's Fury. Maybe modders can figure out of how to make that dream a reality lol.
@lasercraft32 I still have the Wii U version with mods, so I pretty much don't need the switch version. I got Daisy in the game mod on the Wii U version game as well. I just couldn't play the switch version without Daisy this time. It's like how you feel about Rosalina basically.
I agree on this heavily, when people use it against Wonder and then do not mention it for the other 2d mario games I feel like there's bias at play. I can at least give 3 a pass, but World's bosses weren't that much better than Wonder's imo, yet it's never brought up against it
this is one of the most creative videos i've ever seen from you, which is totally consistent with the theme of this game of course, and man, it really seems like you just had a blast coming up with the skits. really inspiring and motivating honestly, just to see someone else in such a great creative place :)
![Jack Harlow - Hello Miss Johnson [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q86_nlRoIGw/mqdefault.jpg)
I can’t believe it’s been almost 100 years since Yoshi’s Island. Feels like it’s been 30 years.
lol
Lol I wondered when bro said that
@@evanrosman9226wait it’s you I remember you from Pikmin streams
@@-BenGaming-3:05
I googled it. It's true.
That skit with the flower went on for so long that I started to question if it was just going to be the rest of the video lmao
49:48 I'm honored to be in this video
Loved your cameo. Thank you Green Arlo.
The ending was legitimately legendary
I actually gasped when we saw the hands!! And of course Scott was great
50:36 i remember that puppet from some of his older videos!
And that Scott jumpscare was great haha
Also cool to see Jaggy again, even if it's just his arms, miss that guy.
true but i think not teasing totk big fat review was a missed opportunity
@@lane_blvdit’s probably pretty far off so I don’t blame him
Literally! I was laughing so hard I started crying.
That Arlo × Talking Flower segment was incredible.
Who knew he had two arms
Love it
I think it ran way too long tbh (like he threw in every flower line he could even when the pacing dragged), but the final skit was creative enough that it fully earned that length.
I am way too high for this and it's the best thing I've ever SEEN
It went on way too long. I don't care for RUclipsrs doing skits in the middle of reviews. But I appreciate the in-depth review otherwise.
Loved the ending skit for this one, great work on the video
"Hey, all. Arlo here."
-Arlo the Wozz, 2024
Cameo of the century dude
The collaboration we didn't deserve, but the one we needed...
I didn't read the thing beneath the quote and thought this was Book of Mario dialogue.
My two favorite gaming discussion channels
It's y'all.
I'm just so happy that children growing up now get to have something this imaginative and beautiful be a part of their childhood, kids deserve good games man.
I'm jealous of the people who will get to grow up with this game
@@jclkaytwoit will be weird 10 years from now seeing teens post about their nostalgia for this game
I want to give this 10 likes. Crappy media is so bad for the growth of youth's minds. Always strive to give kids the most creative, imaginative experiences that motivate them to want to do the same, or at least be creative and be happy with their creations.
It really gave me the same magical vibe I remember from playing SMW as a kid; the feeling that absolutely anything could happen at any time. Every level had something new and funky to offer, every pipe could lead to somewhere on the other side of the planet. For all my gripes about Nintendo as a company, it's truly astounding how they've managed to keep that sort of feeling alive for multiple generations of gamers.
@@FourthDerivative Nailed it
Considering I've lived and breathed 2D Mario for most my life, it's refreshing seeing such an in-depth review of Wonder from someone who isn't a big fan of the series.
Also the way you made your skits using only the original game's talking flower voicelines is really impressive, reminds me of doing the same thing for my custom Wonder levels.
14:21 Part of the reason Wonder has such a 2D art-feel compared to the New Super Mario Bros. games is that most of the game's platforms, backgrounds, and even some of the enemies actually are 2D. The way background scrolling works also mimics the parallax effect of older games like Yoshi's Island, with how there are a number of scrolling layers, whereas New Super Mario Bros. Wii and U used more ordinary fully 3D backgrounds.
40:50 The differences in movement controls between Wonder and the NSMB games are indeed super subtle. The most impactful change is that the player will now slow down / turn around much more quickly when changing directions, meaning the NSMB games basically have permanent ice physics compared to Wonder.
Love your shorts about Wonder’s behind the scenes
rimea!!!
rare rimea comment
Rimea appearance!
Rimea the goat making an appearance 🔥
Pure art and no sponsor - so here a little tip for this masterpiece of editing, writing and acting. Thank you!
Good on dude! That's a beautiful mindset.
Great mindset
Arlo really is doing something no other gaming RUclipsrs are
Love the idea, inspired me to do the same thing.
not all heroes wear capes. cheers
Did we just watch Arlo get pressured into doing dr*gs by a talking catapiller?
Yes……….yes we did
Did Arlo use AI to mimic the caterpillars voice? Crazy work after bashing AI use in games
@@chiquita683sounded like Arlo doing a voice to me, either way, didn't sound like ai
@@chiquita683what makes you think it’s AI?
A catapill pusher.
The skits throughout the review are so fun!
um I had a blast watching this video, to everyone involved, amazingly put together, LOVED the skits so much and the review turned out, wonderful!
wow, nice dude!
Moolah
some people are just rich.
I get what you were saying when you said this was a new era for you and Kane - this was the closest you've ever been to the game itself while reviewing it. Continually cutting in and out of the game audio, using its writing to bolster the video itself, incredibly tight editing... be proud of yourselves for what you've accomplished in this one.
And man, you've made a daunting video to top lmao
I was guessing it was the mid review skits
Arlo said 2D platformers lack depth.
I wanted to yell, "Yeah! Because it's 2D!"
In your build-up, you overlooked Super Mario Maker. That had a big impact on the devs. Seeing what people were doing by essentially using their dev tools showed them that there were still so many ways they could do different things with 2D Mario. They took that new outlook into making Super Mario Wonder. Plus the amiibo costumes from Maker 1 showed that people WANTED to play as more than just the basic cast.
Mario Maker made people wonder if 2D Mario was dead. Mario Wonder proved it was far from finished.
Yeah he said we were waiting a decade for a new 2d mario and I was like is he forgetting about Mario Maker?
If Nintendo looked at the creativity in Super Mario World ROM hacks too, they could take a TON of inspiration for the next entry.
@@PistolUSMCthat would require Nintendo to acknowledge their existence in the first place. And we all know how Nintendo feels about anything unofficial. “KILL IT WITH FIRE!” seems to be their standard response.
What about games like DKC
Can we take a moment to appreciate the Arlo and talking flower skits? Because I love them🌻🔵
I thought the Arlo golf ball sent me but the human hands was a whole other level.
so happy to see scripted reviews return
funny seeing you here
still waiting for the 7 hour pikmin 4 review
5:32 I know why they waited a decade. They didn’t. They put out NSLU, then went to work on Mario Maker, Mario Maker for 3DS, and Mario Maker 2. Between those games and Pikmin, the team just didn’t have time for a more traditional 2d Mario until now
I really love the Online elements. I don't like playing online, but I had so much fun helping unskilled players (usually children) with some of the hsrder levels. Specifically, I would hang out in some of the incredibly tough puzzle rooms and give players who were having a lot of trouble some nice hints and sometimes powerups to help them get it. I would often then watch those same players start helping other players who joined the level!
This is the type of community play that makes me so happy and feels missing from the larger switch ecosystem outside of splatoon!
I don't think Wonder really clicked for me until I started playing it online. It was both a fun competition trying to keep up with the people I entered the level with and a cool bit of collaboration. I definitely think its one of its better features.
I feel like wonder came as a result of seeing so many interesting ideas and designs through the Mario maker games. Everyone loves the 2D Mario coat of paint but with the flair of open minded level design. I think they ran with the idea of making 2D Mario wacky and exciting
I keep wondering what if they made maker 3 with wonder style and items and wonder effects 🤩🎉
@@BassamAbusamra that'd be fun
Spoiler for the end of the video!
Naked-puppeteer-arms-Arlo was SUCH an incredible gag. I’ve always enjoyed your humour, but oh my gosh that was amazing.
And you followed it up almost immediately with Arlo The Woz!
I loved your other skits in this episode, too. Thanks for a great video!
I rather enjoyed Wonder's music. There were even a lot of atmospheric cuts that I wasn't expecting to get with a Mario game.
Great video--you really put your all into this one!
I love the little skits that you do, adds a lot of charm.
I like how much this game feels like an official Mario Maker level set. It feels like, in a completely unexpected move, Nintendo actually saw the levels people were making and really wanted to try those ideas out for themselves.
Wonder very much feels like a response to Mario Maker. It's like they went "We've let people create every possible permutation of a normal 2d mario level, what can we do next that's still interesting? I know, new gimmick every level!"
It's not for nothing that Wonder is something that would basically be impossible to create in a standardized level editor like Mario Maker
Galaxy brain move, charging people $60 to crowdsource level prototyping for them
They actually specifically mentioned this in the dev interviews! They had to take a long think about what made 2D mario unique and fun after seeing all the creativity of the Mario Maker Community
As much as I loved Mario Maker, it really did highlight how hard it is to make a good level. I played a bunch of fun gimmick levels, but I can't remember playing even a single player-made level that felt just like a really good vanilla Mario level.
@@TheThunderbirdRising The amount of people who were dead set convinced we'd never get another 2D Mario game because "It'd be pointless, Mario Maker can already do everything we want." was utterly ridiculous and I never bought it. How silly and nonsensical.
I feel validated that those people had it stuck to them.
I LOVE how you can have the flowers speak in a set language while keeping the rest of the game in the native language because me and my gf put them in French because we thought it’d be funny and it helped my enjoyment SO much because hearing just regular English in a Mario game was so jarring so having it in a language I don’t know helped it feel like a sound effect if that makes sense
Excellent points, and the skits were fantastic. The ending alone might be one of the best things you've made.
I think this is my favourite Arlo the Woz video.
Gonna go ahead and say that this is easily your best video. I was pretty lukewarm on Wonder. I found it to be...pretty good! But you made all of your points well, and emphasized what really mattered to you. It's that Arlo-y, heart-warming charm. And the jokes and editing are you and your team in top form.
Cheers from a long-time fan!
I never know if Nintendo listens to us, or just ends up comming to the same conclusions.
I think it's a mix between the two
They definitely listen. They don't agree a lot of the time tho
yoshi's island is fascinating, because it feels like the first game where nintendo's "modern" design philosophy started to take root. big, exploratory levels. lots of really unique ideas that don't overstay their welcome. great, creative gameplay mechanics that differentiate it from other games in the series. emphasis on atmosphere and a unique art style. it's very much an "n64" style nintendo game, just 2d and on the SNES instead.
I played this game a little more recently then others and I loved it 🥰 I really loved world 3 especially 😊
I strongly disagree with the idea that the original New Super Mario Bros game on DS is on the same level as the rest of the NSMB games. NSMB 2, Wii, and U I agree, but the original game is still wonderfully creative and exciting.
Yeah, I agree with you. Just looking at the bosses of each games, it’s crazy how much more creative and interesting all of NSMB1’s bosses are.
Nah. NSMB is like a fan made Mario game. A really good fan make, but a fan make.
I disagree that the other NSMB games aren't also creative and exciting.
The issue was that pumping out games at that speed didn't leave them enough room to be creative. And using the same models, music, and themes over and over again led to fatigue. But that doesn't mean there weren't cool ideas underneath it all.
I'm especially baffled to hear that the NSMB soundtracks are seen as bland. Overused? Absolutely. But the games have really solid tracks. NSMBWii especially gets ignored due to how often its music was used, but if you stop and listen to it, you can tell how great they are.
@@DaNintendude it's just a circlejerk to act like NSMB is creatively bankrupt as a whole. i think a lot of people havent even played the games but say it anyway.
DS kinda got hit with guilt by association, at the time it was a beloved return to 2D
Your special effects for eating that flower was just like Cookie Monster eating many things on Seseme Street and the Follow That Bird movie. It was perfect. And your gamer comedy writing to go with it was great too. Keep this up!
50:33 i cant BELIEVE we got a Fuzzaboom reference in 2024
Arlo vs flower is one of the best things I have seen in a while.
That flower skit was INCREDIBLE 😭 Genuinely one of my favorite reviews of the ever lmao!!
26:52 is by far the funniest interaction I have seen all month 🤣! Arlo can you please make that a Short or it’s own video or something.
I do agree with your comments about NSMB series, but I do wish people would realize that the original NSMB WAS the Wonder of it's day. It's not that game's fault that Nintendo decided to make 6 more identical games afterwards, no more than it would be Wonder's fault if Nintendo went "people liked Wonder, let's make 5 more Wonder games"
I don't think people of bragging about DS. If anything, they appreciated it and still considered it the real 2D Mario game. It's just the ones afterwards is where it becomes an problem.
The Flower Skits are Amazing
The whole bit you talking to the flower was awesome XDDD
Wonder is the game my family beeded! My 7 and 8 yesr old sons LOVED it and they will cherish our time together playing Mario for the rest of their lives. This is the next generation's Mario 64 and I'm happy they have one!
My favorite part of Mario Wonder is playing as Daisy! Daisy is my favorite Mario character, and it's been long overdue for her to make appearances on mainline games.
Just having Peach NOT be kidnapped and both princesses be playable characters is such a huge improvement on the roster, especially because all the characters play the same, so you avoid the issues Super Mario Bros. U had where 2 players were left with the leftover Toads or locked to Easy mode.
And those levels can be pretty challenging too, with the amount of variety and themes they play around, having the level's difficulty marked on the map and using the Wonder Seeds as keys for the World's castle without requiring all levels beaten is also a nice change of pace, now we can have harder levels earlier on without alienating the less skilled players! :D
Mario Wonder is Wonderful! :D
Edit: On the talking Flowers, if you set them to Japanese the whole "Well, that just happened" schlick (or whatever insulting you rightfully utilize to refer to that type of writing) is completely gone. The original script for their commentaries is more Japanese in flavor, so they sound more like "what is going on? or "did I dream that happening?", as if they are actually written by people outside of the US and the Marvel writing style bubble!
11:11 When I used to hope that Daisy would be in the main line games, it felt like I was shouting in a vacuum towards some of the fans. They would usually be very dismissive saying that she was spin-off fodder. I used to really think offhanded rules made by fans were pretty pointless. But now more than ever they seem to get along pretty well when Daisy showed up from my perspective that's astonishing, she's a WONDERFUL addition like I've been trying to tell'em all along. 🥹
Aside from Wonder being new & original and breaks the New Super Mario Bros curse, Daisy is also the main reason I wanted this game just because this is her first time being playable and I'm happy Nintendo is given her some attention.
@@rondorock2563 "Offhanded riles made by fans."
That reminds me of when fans used to come up with all sorts of excuses for Square Enix to never remake Final Fantasy VII, saying it was too big to be remade, that environments would have to be made in 3D instead of pre-rendered and that somehow made it impossible to remake the game, or that the slap minigame on top of the Sister Ray Canon was too silly to be present.
Then Square """remakes""" the game by making it at least 3 times bigger with infinite padding, ruins the story by making it far sillier (without intending to) and perfectly fine and expensive 3D environments.
Oh yeah, and there were people 100% sure the Switch 2 wouldn't have backwards compatibility because the Switch didn't have it with the Wii U, and that somehow proved it. It wasn't because the Switch was physically and architecturally completely different from the Wii U or even that the previous console was such a huge failure that backwards compatibility would only hold the Switch back, it was just a new rule made by fans that it would never happen again!
We really have a bunch of ignorant people telling us things are never going to happen with such confidence that it borderlines arrogance!
The reason why Daisy is here is because one of the developer's daughters wouldn't stop bickering on who would play as Peach.
@@lol-ih1tl I didn't know that! That's so cute, very wholesome actually. 🤗
0:55 embrace your inner cookie monster
These arlo reviews are the most entertaining videos for me. I stick my phone in my ear with very low volume and listen to them in parts while walking to school and back!❤
This was probably your best review yet. The skits were fire (the ending was amazing), the praise and criticism was fair, and it was just a fun watch that didn't even feel like 50+ minutes.
I loved the skit about the conversation with the flower using all its voice lines. That must have taken a lot of effort and i must say it was well worth it. Good job Arlo.
Arlo might be a psychopath for enjoying the hide and seek levels
I'm a diagnosed psychopath and I do enjoy them so that tracks
I loved the hide and seek levels! It was so much fun working other players to find all the secrets
@@joffles6516 they’re so stupid, and the solutions are so obscure, but i’m glad they exist. it’s fun to boot up the game just to help people online figure out how to complete the level.
I liked one of them and thought the others were ok and I played in single player. Honestly they're overhated.
They were one of my favorite parts of the game tbh.
31:33 not gonna lie, was expecting an "I wonder what a Goomba tastes like" here xD
50:19 Good grief, he's naked!
RUclips should demonetize this
It’s what he looks like without fur
It his bones.
@@AccountName_ Ok, so he's not naked, he's naked 2.
This review was so much fun, using the flower's dialogues to... Well, dialogue with him was very creative!
This game was the first one i’ve ever 100% (besides cuphead). I absolutely loved this game and need to revisit it since it’s OVER A YEAR OLD NOW. It feels like time flies omg…
im taking the time to appreciate the amount of work and joy that went into adding the skit comedy bits. It worked great and i very much enjoyed it.
30:19 I understand it now
That Arlo x Flower sketch did NOT need to be anywhere near that long, and I feel ridiculously spoiled. THANK YOU for that segment. Every moment Arlo is on camera is a happy moment for me.
Finally Nintendo realized how good their old games were when they made them unique
The ending skit alone makes this video
Random Scott the Woz cameo had me rolling
I really liked how they went all the way in with the talking flowers. They could've been really annoying but they gave them so many dialogues to each situation in genuinely funny ways that I loved them
00:26:57 The conversation had me dying! Then the end sealed the deal. Great work!
1 thing I don't hear a lot of people mention was how the Superstar turns you into a coin Magnet. You just attract nearby coins to you as long as the Superstar tune is playing. It's something I hope stays in every future Mario Platformer, 2D or 3D.
The flurry of wonder effects throughout the video were quite charming.
Excellent work on this one, Arlo and Kane. Putting together the conversation with the flower must have taken ages.
The Mario series is at its best when it is weird and funny in my opinion, you can see it in the RPGs, you can see it in games series like the Strikers games, in Mario Party, and Mario Kart, in games like Mario Odyssey, Bowser's Fury with the fact that everything is a cat, in Luigi's Mansion 3, in Princess Peach Showtime, and you can see it in Wonder
That flower section just kept going and going and I just wanted to see where the conversation was gonna go too. Why was I so invested in that skit?
Oddly, despite Breaking Tradition and being unexpected it feels so Natural, like this is the Direction that should have been taken a while ago, Mario was always meant to be Wacky and Fun
This was delightful all the way through, lots of work paid off here.
My reaction to the Wonder effects at the end:
1-The real Banjo Threeie was the Arlos we met along the way
2-nice music, goofy elephant
3-HE’S BACK!
4-W H A T
5-Oh no Not Again
6-He had a Wonder Mushroom in there, didn’t he?
7-I like Trampoline Parks, I always leave with enough broken bones that I don’t have to go to work for at least a few weeks
8-OH GOD PLEASE NO NOO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
9-Alternate universe Arlos return
10-When Big Fat Review, cmon I’m waiting
11-gotta be warm out there
12-Gotta play the game arlo did voice work in
13-don’t like clowns
14-that gotta hurt
15-Arlo Human Reveal (ok that was REALLY Clever)
16-Nostalgia
17-NO WAY SCOTT THE WOZ!….Without his Blue Boarder….*X-File theme plays*
18-Bro don’t do it…DON’T DO I-
All of the talking flower segments were amazing 😂. So was the whole review in general
I think arlo ate to much of the wonder flower yoshis island is not 100 years old
Wow. That was so good!!! I missed Arlo reviews so much, and you came back SWINGING!!!! Especially that ending!!
Thank you for being the best RUclipsr!!!
This is the Arlo I subscribed for at 60k follewers for and this is the Arlo I’d still subscribe today for in a heartbeat 💗
The sections inbetween chapters are absolutely hilarious, especially the one with the multiple wonder flowers. Amazing job there!!
50:05 was unexpected and greatly loved. Thank you Arlo.
PLEASE do more sketches. The sketches in this video were immaculate.
Safe to say this is one of your weirdest and best videos yet. The end is just too much 😂
Also I’m yet to understand what implications that sequence has for the Arlo Cinematic Universe!
Incredible review, Arlo! I especially loved the skit segments - the ending sequence to this video was wonderful in every sense of the word!
This is the first Mario game I've 100%ed.
That's a huge deal to me.
I love the little segments between actual points to do something silly, like the endless suffering badge
Super Mario World and Yoshi’s Island approaching the 100 year mark is certainly an impressive feat, can’t wait to experience the 200th anniversary next year!
On a real note though lol, I’m currently playing through Wonder right now and aside from some levels imo being a bit clunky with controls due to tight timing required (I’m looking at you block wall jumping Special World level), this game has been a lot of fun and I can’t wait to see it to the end. I’ve just finished the end of World 4 and have Worlds 5 & 6 left before I take on the final boss (which funny enough I’m still blind on so I look forward to seeing what that’s about). The animations and music absolutely make the game for me, and whilst limited in nature the online makes me feel more connected as well as I’ve had some other players save my butt when I die close to the final goal. God bless the standees, they are an absolute godsend to my inexperienced Mario platformer skills 😭
I loooved the bit with the talking flower, actually had me laughing out loud
I shall edit this comment over the course of this video but wonderful intro! Yay, that one skit (around the 16-17 minute mark) that I saw on Twitter some time ago, love to see it in this video! I really love that Daisy is playable as she is my favorite Mario character, I haven’t beat the game as I am not good at platforming but appreciate it so much as a game. Also while Mario isn’t generally my favorite Nintendo series, this game really is super neat and yeah like you said the Mario RPGs are wonderful and amongst my favorite games!
Loved the skit too!
26:55 Oh my god, exasperated Arlo arguing with a talking flower is not what I expected, but it's absolutely something I didn't even know I needed lmao
The skits! THE SKITS! That ending! WAHHH
Can't stop thinking about black and white horror Arlo
the skits had me shaking and crying, Literally the best thing i've seen on youtube in at least half a year
I loved this new approach to the review format! The ending sequence was super funny! Thank you Arlo!
I think there's a little too much NSMB bashing here.
Like sure, some of it is bias, but some of it felt like "oh yeah, everyone thinks this."
And sadly I think a lot of people _do_ feel that way.
The reason the NSMB games were so "bland" was because they were pumped out so quickly. There wasn't much time to do too much _new_ with each entry, so they ended up reusing a LOT. Did you know Mario & Luigi's models are altered from Mario Kart Double Dash??
But the actual new and creative stuff shouldn't be overlooked. I think if NSMBU had 5 years to get developed, and it was developed by the FULL team, instead of the split development with NSMB2 it had, we could've gotten a game closer to Wonder.
They said that with Wonder, they didn't want to give themselves a deadline. They worked really hard to be as creative as possible _and they had the _*_time_*_ to do so._
This isn't to diminish how annoying it was to get the same games over and over, or diminish how truly creative and ground-breaking Wonder is. But this wasn't just some random thing they did. They've probably been wanting to make creative stuff like this for years, and they were just too stuck into their release schedules to have the time to get creative.
As a final note, I think the claim that New Super Mario Bros had bland music compared to Wonder to be kinda baffling.
Yeah, we ALL got sick of those same songs getting reused for every single game (+ the Mario Makers), but the songs themselves are really REALLY good. New Super Mario Bros Wii specifically has a lot of overlooked tracks.
There are a few SMB3 songs that got new, extended arrangements, and they're incredible. Bowser Jr's battle theme in Wonder actually reminded me a lot of the Tower Boss theme from NSMBWii.
I also think the NSMB games were necessary to push the devs to be as creative as they were.
The fact they decided to make new enemies instead of reusing old ones already says a lot.
The devs were tired of the same old, and wanted something new.
But stuff like the animations, fresh models, and wacky level scenarios? Those all could've existed in the NSMB era if they had the time (and power).
NSMB relies too much on classic traditions, and 3D. Wonder takes a step forward, evolving the formula, while also stepping back with the art. They wanted it to look 2D. Idk if that mindset would've worked with how they handled the NSMB games. And I certainly don't think they would've been able to animate everyone as clean and fluidly as they are in Wonder.
The duration and creativity of some of these bits like the flower convo and ending sequence are the mario bros wonder of arlo vids
When I realized it's been 100 years since Yoshi's Island was released, I looked into the mirror and exploded into a cloud of dust.
I was not expecting the sad music to kick in with the flower. So perfectly sad and amazing.
If Yoshi’s Island is 100 years old I’m 86 going on 87 😂😂😂
The little skit at 28:50 was one of the funniest things ive seen in years
Now I want to play Wonder again! It truly is a special game that I really enjoyed my first time through, but after some time I wasn't sure how I felt about it because it was a bit easy for me and didn't take me long to complete. However, I've recently gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for what this game did for Mario as a whole. Here's to hoping Nintendo will continue to fine-tune this amazing formula of weird and wackiness combined with the classic Mario gameplay we all know and love!
Also, those segments with the Talking Flower and the Wonder Flowers were flippin' hilarious.
this video was INCREDIBLE. The script was really good, the acting was top-level, and the editing was superb. Great job, Arlo and Kane!
As amazing as this game is, I wish I could say the same for the bosses….
That Arlo vs Flower conversation was hilarious!! 😂
Something as simple as _being able to play as Daisy_ does WONDERS for my enjoyment of this game. I cannot overstate the impact of being able to play as your _favorites_ instead of just the characters you're usually stuck with.
(The same is true for 3D World. Its hard to say if I'd even really enjoy playing the game AT ALL if not for the fact I can play as Rosalina. I literally speedran the game just to unlock her, and didn't enjoy Bowser's Fury even nearly as much. Being able to play as characters I actually LIKE is just that important to me).
@@lasercraft32 you're better than me, I took the game back to the store because of Bowsers fury I didn't like it at all. I just wanted Daisy and a lot more levels added to the base 3D world. Bowser's fury should have just been it's own game apart from 3D world, you couldn't even switch to a different character other than Mario not even with amiibo. I just felt like it defeated the purpose of being connected to 3D world, a game with multiple characters on a single adventure.
@@rondorock2563 I actually already owned the game on Wii U... The main reason I even wanted to buy the Switch port is because of the universal movement changes they made (so even though I didn't like Bowser's Fury, the base game is still superior to the Wii U version).
For example, the game itself basically moves faster (every character got a buff to their movement speed), and they also added the ground-pound jump, dive, and spin jump from Mario Odyssey. It honestly does wonders for my enjoyment of the game, because of how much movement tech it allows.
Especially with Rosalina, you can get some crazy height _and_ distance by using her spin ability (long jump + spin + dive can cross huge gaps, and ground pound jump + wall jump + spin + dive can get you up high ledges).
But once again... None of that would matter all that much if not for the fact I can play as Rosalina. XD
I would have killed (not literally though) to be able to switch into other characters for Bowser's Fury. Maybe modders can figure out of how to make that dream a reality lol.
@lasercraft32 I still have the Wii U version with mods, so I pretty much don't need the switch version. I got Daisy in the game mod on the Wii U version game as well. I just couldn't play the switch version without Daisy this time. It's like how you feel about Rosalina basically.
This mentality is why the industry is in the state it's in now.
How did you make this so funny and insightful?! Absolutely some of your best work! Keep it up Arlo!
To be fair all Mario 2d games in the past were never really about boss battle though. The boss battles always simple and quick.
I agree on this heavily, when people use it against Wonder and then do not mention it for the other 2d mario games I feel like there's bias at play. I can at least give 3 a pass, but World's bosses weren't that much better than Wonder's imo, yet it's never brought up against it
this is one of the most creative videos i've ever seen from you, which is totally consistent with the theme of this game of course, and man, it really seems like you just had a blast coming up with the skits. really inspiring and motivating honestly, just to see someone else in such a great creative place :)